If you are craving a baking sesh this weekend- give my carrot cake recipe a go!
I am an absolute sucker for carrot cake even though my usual favourite recipe contains mountains of sugar and oil 🙈... HOWEVER I have managed to put together a pretty solid healthier version!
It still contains a bit of sugar & oil but I have cut it right down and have still included the must-have cream cheese icing. Majority of the sweetness comes from pineapple and dates. The wholemeal flour boosts the fibre content of the cake and the extra pineapple removes the need for the usual 1 cup of oil.
If you want to drop the sugar even more- then bump up the dates for sweetness and you can always skip the icing! However carrot cake without the cream cheese icing is to be done at your own risk- I can't guarantee that it would be as delicious!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (more if you love a bit of texture)
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups grated carrot (about 3 medium size carrots)
440g tin crushed pineapple (drained)
1/2 cup sliced dates (or sultanas)
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
Icing:
100g light cream cheese
2/3 cup icing sugar
Rind of 1 lemon- grated
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 22cm round cake tin.
Sift the flours and baking soda into a bowl, then add husks from the sieve at the end. Add brown sugar and mix well to break up any lumps.
Add walnuts, cinnamon, grated carrot and crushed pineapple.
In another bowl or jug, blend the oil and the eggs together- then add to the other ingredients and mix until blended.
Transfer the batter to the cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
Leave to cool for 5 mins then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Once the cake has cooled- combine the icing ingredients in a bowl. If it seems a bit runny- place it in the fridge while the cake cools. Spread over the top of the cake.
Sprinkle with a few chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of lemon rind for garnish and serve!
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